The move came after an investigation into the phone records of Sarah Everard’s murderer, Wayne Couzens
Two London police officers have been suspended from duty ahead of an appearance in court after being charged with sending “grossly offensive” messages via WhatsApp between April and August 2019, England’s Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced on Thursday.
Following an investigation of Wayne Couzens’s phone records following his last year conviction for Sarah Everard’s rape- and murder, they were both charged together with another former officer.
“Each of the three defendants has been charged with sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network. The alleged offences took place on a WhatsApp group chat,” Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said.
The messages can be described in many ways. “grossly offensive,”The CPS didn’t provide additional information regarding the nature of these communications.
Met Police responded to this statement by stating that they were investigating the matter. “aware of charges brought against two serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former officer about sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network.”
“They are suspended from duty,”They added it.
The trio are to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 16.
These charges represent the latest in a long-running series of scandals surrounding the Metropolitan Police. They led to Commissioner Cressida’s resignation after she was unable to win the trust of Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor.
Couzens received a life sentence in September 2021 for kidnapping, rape and murder of Everard. Couzens falsely arrested Everard when he was still an active Met officer. A few months later, another two former Met officers were arrested for taking and publishing photos of their murdered sister. These two were given the task of guarding crime scenes.
A damning report from the IOPC about the actions taken by Charing Cross Police Station officers earlier in the year accused them “disgraceful”Behavior, including the creation of a culture that is racist, sexism and homophobic.
This story can be shared on social media
[ad_2]
